Fire-escape



N. LETZLER.

(No Model.)

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 536,088. Patented Mar. 19, 1895.

IN VEN T 01?,

W1 TNESSES;

THE mums FETERS co. PnoTaurnQ. wAsnmsToN, o. c.

INITEV'D STATES NICK LETZ'LER, or NAPOLEON, INDIANA.

\ FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 536,088, dated. March19, 1895 Applioation filed January 14, 1 895' Serial No. 534,892. (Nomodel) .escape, partly in section; Fig. II, a front view;

Fig. III, a detail view showing the device inclosed in a flexible chute,and Fig. IV, aview of the device in operation.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and reliable apparatusdesigned to afford a safe and ready means of escape forin- Y mates ofburning buildings.

The invention consists in the novel'construction and combination ofparts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the said drawings the reference letter A indicates a pulley blockcontaining sheaves2 8 4 and 5, the upper one of which isjournaled inbearing blocks 6 which move in vertical slots 7. Each slot contains acompressible spring 8, the purpose of which will be hereinafterexplained. An endless rope 9 passes around the upper sheave 2, thencedownwardly between and bearing upon the inner sides of the intermediatesheaves 3 and 4. Below these it separates and bears upon the outer sidesof the lower sheave 5. The lower end of the coil encircles a sheave 10in a block 11 from which a rope extends to a grappling block 12 providedwith a hook 13. The object of the grapple and its adjuncts is to providemeans for attaching the tackle to a fixed object outside of the buildingin order that when desired a tension may be exerted upon the endlessrope.

The block A is connected by a pin or bolt 15 to a plate 16 having eyesto receive bails 17 the upper extremities of which are pro-' Vided withhooks which engage the upper cross bar 19 of a frame 20. This connectionis designed to form a practically universal joint so that if by reasonof any obstruction or a fire beneath the window the device cannot besuspended perpendicularly from a window the lower end may be easilymoved to either side or carried out into the street.

The said cross bar 19 is extensible so that it which it is secured tothe window sill when in use.

The operation of the device is as follows: The frame being set and therope and tackle being cast out of the window, as shown in Fig. III, theoperator seizes one of the ropes. His weight causes the upper sheave 2to bear upon the spring and the rope is thus compressed between theupper and the intermediate sheaves. It follows that the frictionproduced in this manner is in proportion to the Weight of the operatorand the speed of his descent will be governed accordingly. It istherefore obvious that any additional weight will increase the frictionand the rate of movement will not be materially affected. It is evidentthat if the grappling hook 13 be attached to a fixed object outside ofthe building, as hereinbefore described, an assistant, by means of thetackle, may regulate thetens'ion and consequent friction in such amanner as to govern the movement independent of any effort on the partof the operator.

.The object of the flexible chute is to remove the timidity of personswho, in the absence of surroundings which ofier even an apparentprotection, would refuse to take the first step required to insure theirown safety.

What I claim as new is In a fire escape, the combination with a frameprovided with an extensible transverse bar adapted to engage the innersides of a window or door casing, with the herein doscribed pulley blockcontaining a sheave journaled in vertically movable bearings normallyupheld by springs, the supplemental friction sheaves adapted toco-operate with the said movable sheave, the separating sheave beneaththe supplemental sheaves, the endless rope passing over the movablesheave and between the supplemental sheaves, the pulley block and sheaveadapted to engage the lower loop of the endless rope, thetension Intestimony that I claim the foregoing i tackle connecting the said pulleyblock with have hereunto set my hand, this 1st day of J ana grapplingblock, and the flexible chute uary, 1895, in the presence of Witnesses.

adapted to envelop the endless rope and its NICK LETZLER. 5 adjuncts,all constructed and arranged sub- \Vitnesses:

stantially as and for the purpose herein speci- SUSIE MEYERS,

fied. ELIZABETH JOHNSON.

